One of the Top 100 FIlms of All Time - 1900

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2018)

The Legend of 1900 is a special film; it is on my top 100 films of all time, and that is not easy to be listed on. It is the second best film project ever completed by the team of director Tornatore and film score creator, Morricone. It is second only to Cinema Paradiso, the greatest Italian classic film of all time. The lead actors and production values are topnotch and the script is absolutely impeccable.
The story of a baby born and abandoned on top of a piano of a luxury liner on New Year's Day of 1900 is fascinating. He is raised on the ship by a 5th Deck (men who shoveled coal for the liner's energy) seaman for eight years, and then after the seaman's unfortunate demise, lives on his own, in the bowels of the ship. And there is more thing about him
He is the greatest piano player who ever lived.
He is a master of the piano by age eight; and entertains the entire crew and passenger categories, from the poorest to the richest. He becomes part of the luxury liner band and has several adventures during the numerous crossings of the ship. He even meets a beautiful girl, but does not pursue their relationship off the ship after she departs. The sea is his mistress; and he never abandons her.
The primary motifs of this film are the piano and the ocean, as well as a good friend who blows a pretty mean horn. However, the opening motif, which is repeated a few times in various crossings, is also important. There is always one person, who in the early morning mist, while approaching New York Harbor, sees the Statue of Liberty for the first time, like an angel parting the clouds of upcoming democracy. "AMERICA!" the excited immigrant yells, and a roar goes up from the large crowd of immigrants on the deck as everyone faces the statue and the ship enters the impressive harbor of New York City.
These scenes are accompanied by outstanding music, as are several other scenes in this classic film. As the protagonist explains, all things have a beginning and end, and being confined to a small piece of land for him would have been a premature end to his existence. So he opts to live and die on the sea. Both the sea and the piano are eternal and unlimited in scope. This film is a must-see for any serious film buff.